Conveyer for dehydrating machines



Jan. 25, 1949. A. BRUNNE 2,459,915

CONVEYER FOR DEHYDRATING MACHINES Filed June 25, 1945 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 MM%W Jan. 25, 1949.

E. BRUNNE CONVEYER FQR DEHYDRATING MACHINES 5 SheetsShee't 2 Filed June 25, 1945 j'n ve-nTor Jan. 25, 1949. A. E. BRUN\NE CONVEYER FOR DEHYDRAT/ING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 25, 1945 'Jan. 25, 1949. A. E. BRUNNE CONVEYER FOR DEHYDRATING MACHINES 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 I Filed June.25, 1945 069 2. nrw 1|. 6 5. 6 AU 6 0 Mr v Q 7 MN 4 5 w. 4) 0 nu O g 8 H. W 5

Patented Jan. 25, 1949 'GGNVgEYERL FOR DEHTYDRATING. MACHINES Alwin E. Eli-urine, Toronto, "Ontario, Canada, as-

signor of twenty. per cent toHarry Sherman, Toronto, Ontario, Canada A pn tit sune 25, 1945, SeriaLNo. 01,407

2 Claims.

The invention relates to dehydrating apparatus and particularly concerns a machine. .for dehydrating materials such as products of natural vegetable growth. I

The paramount object of the inventionis to provide a highly efficient and compact apparatus by Whichmaterial can be-uniformly desiccated in a continuous process utilizing a novel organizationof conveyor mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to produce a. machine in which dehydration is carried outin vacuo. in an economical treatment v'lhich'assures of a. uniform product, and. which is adapted for handling a wide range of material,

Another object is to provide a dehydrating apparatus in which heatingand. drying of the material is performed by infra-red rays as. thematerial is turned in a gyratory manner substantially uniformly and continuously as it is conveyed along from one point to'another in the course of treatment.

Another and important object is to produce a machine which notonly effectively-dehydratesbut also carries out such treatment of foodstufi in a manner which preserves an exceptionally high vitam n content and also. thenatural-colour and flavour of the food.

'A further object 'isjto provide. a machinehaving a conveyor structure in which materialis conveyed by co-acting blades of a rotal'y type e rranged insets, each set operating to blandly advance the material with a raising and turning ac ion so at difier surfa if-P ti l the material are "exp'osedjto rays from, irradiation lamps and for heat produced .thereby for causing evaporation of the moisture uniformly throughout the mass.

A Iu her bj -i o su ply a-d rdra insaa par t s whi h b tuac ev lw stm ien and. arrangement of .itsparts is operable to.uni-, formly remove moisture from means so that it will be e; .a consistent desiccated texture throughout its. bull; and not merely dried at the surface which would result in the .forming of a skin covering an innerlayer having an unclesirahleimoise ture content.

A s -in tu he phi c is q o ideamaehine n which dehydration takes place directly by the.-in-. cidence of infra-red rays whilematerial is being transported along one stretch or run of Con. veyor, and in which the -.de siccating treat1nent is con nu by ea vel ae l byhe n ra-r d lamps s he mat r i be n ca ried annea -1,.- stretch. r r n at he 'cen ever ta lo elevation nd a a educed-anywher The-invention comprehends a machine having a conveyor structure in which blades of rotary devices interfit and interfunction for movement of material, and in which the rotary devices are grouped in units which are-interchangeable and are connected one toanother, the structure pro? viding for theproduction of machines of-different sizes and purposes. An important feature of construction is that the units. are adapted for arrangement in tiers, wherebythe over-all length of the conveyor can beincreased without lengthening the machine.

Having described the major objects and advantages of the invention, other objects and advantages will appear as the invention is recounted in detail in the ensuing specification and accompanying drawings wherein a practical embodiment 'of the apparatus is shown by way of illustration but not of limitation.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of the machine.

Fig, "2 is. atop plan view of the cabinet or case thereof showing a glass panel through which'rays pass into the machine from the exterior lamps.

Fig. 3 is an exploded elevational view depicting the complemental units of the upper tier of the conveyor.

Fig. .4 is a fragmentary elevation on an enlar ed scale of the feed end of the conveyorshowing -1; end Plate attached to the first unit for receiving material to be dehydrated and enabling itto. bepicked up by the initial rotor of the unit.

. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the end plate referred to with reference to Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one of the units of the conveyor in which parts areomitted for sakeof clarity.

Eigfin isa detail showing a-couplin for: con-. necting .the..-drive shaft of; one unit to that of a e hr- Fig. I? is a vertical-section through the cabinet or case taken on line 1-1 of Fig. 1.

.Fig. 81s a perspective view of :an adjustable supportingbracket forthe lamps.

91s a cross. section of one of the units whence-l ne 8 ai Fig. 10 is a left-hand end view of the conveyor taken-on line ill-=1 Q of Fig .1.

Big. 11 is a tractionalhorizontal section .of the feed end of the conveyor taken on line ll-ll f Fig. 12 'isa detail in side elevation of spiders of two adjacent rotors showing how they co-act.

Fig. 13' is a section on :lin .I 3-.-. I 3 "thereof.

-:14;ais.a detail-typifying the mode of: stay? ing the side walls of the cabinet or case against external pressure due to the vacuum.

i is a perspective detail depicting a slight variation in. construction of the frame of the units, in which rigid side walls are used.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate similar parts through the several figures, there is depicted a selected embodiment of the invention which is substan tially the same as a machine which in experiments has demonstrated the practicability and merits of the invention. The apparatus comprises a suitable cabinet or case It constructed in approved manner and of a capacity for providing a chamber H which houses the conveyor. case is of greater length than width and is preferably of the rectangular configuration shown in the drawings. The chamber is hermetically sealed as is necessary for dehydrating materials in vacuo, as is well understood in the art.

At the base of the case there is provided a compartment, indicated at H3, which is not evacuated and which serves to contain the piping through which air is pumped from the chamber l1 and by which a suitable vacuum is maintained in the chamber in the operation of the apparatus. Said piping in the present instance consists of a main line l9 and branch lines 25. Said main line l9 extends through the case IE to a customary exhauster 2| driven as by the belt 22 from an electric motor 23. The branch lines 26 communicate with the chamber I! through the floor 24 thereof. It will be understood-that the case will be fitted with gauges and other accoutrement common to dehydration apparatus for indicating and regulating temperature and vacuum, etc., is required to effectively treat materials uniformly.

At the left end of the case thereis provided a hopper 25 arranged over the case and supplied with a spout 26 for feeding material to the conveyor for treatment. The construction of the hopper is not detailed for it may vary in accordance with the material to be processed. A hopper of a known type may be used. In treating fruits and vegetables, hopper structures of the prior art provide for cutting and slicing such materials ready for processing. The hopper 25 is of this variety and may have a shut-off valve 21 and a pulley drive 28 for the slicing mechanism (not shown).

The type 29 of the case is depicted as supplied with a section of its area permeable to heat rays, which section is composed of a glass panel 38 suitably attached. Infra-red rays are employed as the heating and drying medium, for which purpose there is provided a group of lamps 3i for emitting such rays. The lamps are arranged over the glass panel 38 so that the rays will pass through the same onto the upper stretch of theconveyor. The electric circuit for the lamps is supplied with a suitable arrangement of switches (not shown) by which they can be selectively controlled so that the number in use at one time may be varied. The heat may thus be controlled to meet the demands of the material undergoing treatment. v

The lamps are preferably adjustable bodily to and away from the case i 6 so that the direct heating and drying effect of their rays on the material carried by the upper stretch of the conveyor may be varied. To this end the lamps are suspended upon a mount comprising a horizontal member 32 having each of its ends rigidly attached to a bracket 33 which is loosely sleeved The I on a stationary screw 3% vertically supported in a standard 35. Each bracket is of a C-sh ped configuration and contains a pair of meshing bevel gears 35 and 3B. The gear 35 is threadedly engaged with the screw 35 and shouldered between the upper and the lower parts of said bracket so that when it is turned it will raise or lower the bracket according to the direction in which it moves. The gear 38 is journalled on the bracket to which it belongs by means of a shaft 3'! that extends between the pair of brackets. Said shaft has a crank element 38 by which it can be turned by hand which rotates the gears 35 in unison for moving the brackets 33, thus bodily shifting the lamp support 32 with a parallel movement. This mechanism for positional adjustment of the lamps is given by way of example but not of limitation as it will be understood that other Ways of achieving this result may be employed without departing from the invention.

The conveyor, denoted as a whole by the reference character 39 in Fig. 1, comprises a continuity of similar rotors 4!) having a driving connection by which they are all turned simultaneously at a uniformly slow speed for progressively advancing material from one to another by the action of radial blades which assure of a desirable tumbling or turning of the material during each stage of advancement. Since the rotors are of identical construction a description of one will suffice. A rotor comprises a transversely arranged shaft ll journalled in a, frame for connection to a driving member. The shaft ii rigidly carries a series of spaced radial blades 12 which are of uniform thickness and fairly thin compared to their breadth which lies in a plane at right angles to the axis about which they turn. The blades are spaced apart a distance to admit freely the blades of another rotor so as to provide a construction in which adjacent blades permit of the interfitting of a blade of the other rotor with just sufiicient clearance to make a working fit. The blades are sheet metal members form-ed of stainless steel.

Most satisfactory results are obtained by fashioning the blades of spider-like members stamped from sheet stock by ordinary dies so as to provide four arms or blades on a spider spaced equidistantly therearound in a common plane. The spider, denoted at 43 in Fig. 12, has a hub portion 44 whose sides are flush with said arms or blades 42, which radiate therefrom. To mount the spider non-rotatably on the shaft 41 it is provided with a central hole 45 of a square shape and the shaft is made of a similar shape in cross section. A distance piece, such as a washer .46, is employed to space one spider from another on the shaft in order to produce the required lateral spacing of their adjacent blades for interfitting of blades of another rotor. c

It will be seen that by this construction the rotor is formed by assembling a proper number of spiders and washers on the shaft alternately. This provides a rotor structure which can be manufactured at low cost. The spiders and the interposed washers can be locked in assembly as by a common expedient such as the provision of lock nuts on the shaft 41. It will be noted that the spiders produce four sets of blades on the shaft each set extending parallel to the shaft axis at right angles to an adjacent set. An important feature of construction is that the wash ers are of a size smaller than the hubs M of the spiders in order to provide an uninterrupted wall pertiond'Immeaeh: spider :outwardlyzof thewashers wand defined :by-.the apt-axes of sheetin edges :of .zadjacentdbla'des @of "each spider. The reason-for the wall :portion -41 .will-:presently appear.

:iHaving-descrihed the construction of the rotors; theirirelative arrangementand:interfunctioningiwill now be related. In any stretch orrun of the conveyor the rotors turnli'n the same direction and the shafts M are spaced :sothat the blades of one rotor interfit with bladesof an adjacerit rotor to ='eftend within working clearance of the washers on'ithatrotor in turningthrough a plane containing the :axes of the :rotors. The spiders on :one rotor are ofcourse necessarily offset=w ith-respect to thoseon the adjacent rotor 'to provide for the-interfitting o'f theblades, which is only a matterof the manner in whichlth'e spiders and the'washers areassembled on one shaft with respect-to those on another shaft. The sets of blades of one rotor are correspondinglypositioned angularly to-those of theadjacent rotor therefore when the rotors assume a position in which sets of blades arevertical there is 'a set of blades on one rotor "in horizontal disposition fully dn'terfittingwith a set on the adjacent rotor. The matingsets of horizontally interfitting blades thus form a. trough with the upper sets of vertical blades for receiving material. Having particular reference t'ol'*ig.l-2,-'it will-be=seen that the horizontal set of blades of the foremost adjacent ro'torin sweeping upwardly lifts the material in thetrough and de'scribesan arc-of an orbit, denoted at 48,- which completely bisects the upper set of yertical blades'of the rearmost rotor, "as is indicated in dash lines. Inthe result there is an intercepting action which assures of completeadvancemen't-of the mass "of materials without the possibility of any of it escaping by dropping through any avenue that might be opened up in'thepperation ofth'e blades. Additionally the blades having a wiping action which completely removes thematerial from each set of blades in their ideli-veryoperation; and in the receiving 'or lifting operation their rear-edges block or'guard against precipitate advancement of material which is most important in treating nuts or like foods which are apt to roll-in being advanced over arotor 'by the "turning or tumbling "action inherent in the-operation of the conveyor.

A further featureof theyc'onstruction is that the outeriends of the blades are flanked in their liftingaction by the'outer portions 4'5 of the hubs 44 and then by the blades between which they pass. Consequently they are laterally supported against being'spnungloutof alignment'by-wedging of any solid particles of material.

The blades. permit heat 1.700163001143216 supported surfaces of the material which enhances evaporation of moisture and promotes uniform and expeditious dehydration. While the material is being advanced from one rotor to another the blades turn it with a gentle tumbling action which assures thatdiiferent surfaces will be exposed "to the heating and drying medium.

"The-rotors are preferably mounted in a frame having sections at different elevations in the form of tiers by which material is advanced from the source of supply along an upper tier and then I along a subjacent tier in reverse direction. This arrangement provides a compact machine and any number of tiers can be used, though only two are illustrated in the drawings. The material on reaching the end of the first tier is discharged onto the receiving end of the subjacent tier and 6 upnnnanivmg zat "the rend of the-secondtier is discharged .into'ra suitable receptacle.

: :Sai'ti sections-.aretcomposed of .apluraility of units which are duplicates of each cother. and which enable a .:conveyor :of .any size to 'bejhuilt merely by using a required .number of the units. The constmctionqprovides for the manufacture of'macliines having conveyors of differentilengths and: capacities dzoxneet 'Athe demands of various materials. (clearly depicted in Fig. Lithe withatt-achment members 5! secured thereto'ior integral therewith. Said attachment :members are vertically-arranged to extend from thebottempt the sills'toa point above the top thereof. The uprights 51 are pierced as at 52 .to receive fasteningelementsfis 'by which those at one=end oflthez-unitiare connected-to uprights of the 'other unit of a frame-section. The uprights atrthe other or outer end of the unit serve to attach an end plate EA-theretd- The sills are rigidly unite'd by crossbars lidandfifi located at the ends thereof. The crossbars 55 :extend below'the uprights dlaiand the crossbars 56 extend across the top of the uprightsand'areafhxed thereto. The sills are brace'd at'intervals throughout their length: as lbystaybars :5! which i-project outwardly 7 thereof and have'their projecting ends threadedly engaged with abutment elements 58 which are.

screw adjusted to bear against the side walls!!! of the case lB to sustain them against sagging'due to'external pressure caused byvacuum.

The shafts of the rotors are journalle'd on the sills by means of anti-friction bearings 60 secured de'tachablyasby caps 5! which enable the rotors to be removed individually. At'one side of said unit the shafts are provided with worm wheels 62 engaged with worms 6.2 keyed on a drive shaft 63. The drive shaft rotates in bearings applied to the adjoining sill and extends the full length of the sill. The gearing thus operates all the rotors of the unit in the operation of the drive shaft. The drive shafts of each two frame sections are joined together at their inner ends as by a standard coupling 65, detailed in Fig. 6A.

An outer end of the united shafts 83 of each frame section or tier of the conveyor is geared to a vertical shaft 66 by a worm wheel 61 and a worm '68. The vertical shaft is suitably supported in bearings 69 and connected asby bevel gears 10 to the motor 23, wh'ose's'haft H extends through the end of the case It for this purpose and is fitted with a stuliing box"!!! for sealing the opening which admits the shaft into the case. From the foregoing description it will be manifest that the shafts 63 0f the several units are concurrently driven in the operation of the motor. In

orderthat the rotors of the units which form' the lower frame-section or tier, may be driven reversely to those of the upper frame-section one set of the gears 61 and 68 is formed with teeth for a right-hand drive and the other set is formed with teeth for a left-hand drive.

In assembling the upper and the lower sections of the conveyor frame the units of the upper section are placed directly over those of the lower section and seated on the crossbars 5'6 thereof and, fastening elements are used to secure these crossbars to the corresponding crossbars 55 at the bottom of the upper units. The conveyor is supported above the floor 26 of the case by suitable means such as the benches 13 which are bolted to the crossbars 55 at the bottom of the lower section or tier. I

. In the operation of the conveyor the material to be treated is delivered by the hopper 25 to the receiving end thereof and fed along by the rotors of the upper tier to the other end thereof where it is dropped to the receiving end of the lower tier and carried in reverse direction to the discharge end of the conveyor. Below the discharge end a suitable receptacle, indicated at T4 is located into which the treated material .drops. In order to retain the material on the conveyor during transit and'to guard against spilling of thesame laterally of theframe the rotors are provided with discs 15 at their ends which are of substantially the same size as the spiders and are similarly mounted on the shafts ii to rotate therewith. The discs of adjacent rotors overlap at each side of the frame and thereby form a .wall which projects above the respective sills. As an alternative construction the discs 75 may be dispensed with and fixed side walls 16 used instead, as indicated in Fig. 15. In this event the side walls '56 would be applied to the sills 50 to extend between the end uprights thereof. Ordinary fastening means would secure the side walls 16 in place. Stainless steel would be used for such side walls which could be slotted as at 71 to fit over the rotor shafts 4! to enable them to be removed without disturbing the rotors.

The end plate 54 at the receiving end of the upper section of the conveyor is best discernible from an inspection of Fig. 5, and is substantially of a U-s'nape in plan, having flanges #8 by which it is attached to the frontal uprights 51 of the first unit. The end plate is located beneath the spout 26 of the hopper and serves to guide material therefrom onto the initial rotor. Desirably it has a transverse series of fixed vertical elements 19 similar in shape to a half section 'of said rotor-spiders and provides horizontal blades 80, which interfit with the blades of said initial spider. Said vertical elements form a grille onto which material drops from said spout and is picked up by the blades of said initial rotor. The end plate 54 at the receiving end of the lower conveyor section is of similar construction and operates to receive material dropped from the discharge end of the upper section, or tier. The end plate 54 on the discharge end of the upper section and that on the discharge end of the lower section are both plain cl-shaped elements devoid of said elements 79, and merely operate as a chute for gravity discharge of the material.

From the preceding description it will be understood that the invention provides a dehydrat-- ing apparatus in which material is repeatedly turned in a gyratory manner as it is being conveyed to assure of its being uniformly desiccated and in which it is subjected to intense heat of infra-red rays during a part of its travel and to a lower heat as it is carried away from the direct 8 heat of the lamps. the conveyor is suitable for conveyin various materials, such as shelled fruits in a roasting operation, and need be confined to the specific construction and arrangement of the herein disclosed dehydrating apparatus, and such changes and modifications of the invention may be resorted to as come Within the scope of the invention as" defined in the subjoined claims.

What I claim is: 1. In a machine of the class described, a conveyor-frame formed of interchangeable units, each unit comprising a pair of spaced sills, a con--.

co-extensive with one of said sills of each unit,

gearing individually connecting the rotors of each unit to the drive shaft thereof and for drivin the shaft of one unit from the shaft of another unit, a U-shaped end plate attached to the end of sills of one unit and having blades thereon interfitted with the blades of the adjacent end rotor of this unit, and a U-shaped end plate adapted for at tachment to the flanged uprights at the opposite end of a unit for forming a discharge member.

2. In a dehydrating machine, a conveyor for- 7 use in a drying chamber heated by infra-red lamps, said conveyor comprising a longitudinal series of transverse rotors driven unidirectionally at a uniform speed, said rotors each including a driven shaft, a series of blades formed of relatively thin fiat plates of uniform thickness, each blade having a central hub portion held on said shaft against independent rotation and having radial arms forming a spider-like blade, said arms tapering on straight lines from said hub portion to a point; and washers interposed between adjacent blades, said washers being of a diameter substantially equal to said hub portions and being of a width just sufficient to space the blades to admit those of an adjacent rotor with a working fit; adjacent rotors being juxtaposed such that the arm portions of their blades interfit whereby in the conveying operation material is turned over and over to expose the surfaces of its components to the infra-red rays of saidlamps.

ALWIN E. BRUNNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

V UNITED STATES PATENTS Number It will also be understood that 

